Towyn-on-Sea and Merioneth County Times

BARMOUTH INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL. DISTRIBUTION OF PRIZES. ADDRESS BY MR 0 M EDWARDS, M.P. On Tuesday evening the Assembly Rooms, Barmouth, were well filled with those interested in secondary education, the occasion being the distribution of prizes and certificates to the pupils of the County School upon work accomplished during the year. The chair was occupied by Mr W J Morris, chairman of the Local Governors, and he was supported on the platform by Mr Lewis Lewis, vice-chairman; Mr 0 M Edwards, M.P., Mr William Evans, Birmingham; Dr D A Hughes, Rev D Evans, M.A., Rev J Gwynoro Davies, Mr Hugh Evans, Mr E D Jones, M.A., headmaster; and Miss Owen, headmistress. The Chairman in opening the proceedings, said the school had done exceedingly good work during the year in spice of the fact that it was housed in temporary premises. He hoped that before a year that day they would be in their own school. While thanking for past subscriptions and donations he wished to say that when the building was finished they would have a balance of about X600 on the wrong side, and they wanted X300 or C400 more to equip the school in an up-to-date manner. They welcomed amongst them Mr 0 M Edwards, the learned county member, and Mr W Evans, Bir- mingham, a gentleman who had come to their rescue in a generous manner. He bad been made a governor of the school, an honour which none of them had reached. He hoped Mr Evans would continue to evince interest in the school and again help them in time of need. A chorus was next given by the pupils under the leadership of Miss Bainsbury. The Headmaster read his annual report in which he stated that during the past year the school had made satisfactory progress in every respect. The number of pupils on the books each term of the year was as follows:—Autumn term, 1898,71 (41 boys and 30 girls); spring term, 1899, 69 (40 boys and 29 girls) summer term, 1899, 59 (33 boys and 26 girls). As has been the case every year since the opening of the school a number of pupils were withdrawn from the school for the summer term to be re-entered the following autumn term. Such a course is most detrimental to the progress of a pupil, and as long as the custom prevails he felt it his duty to draw their attention to it. The Chief Inspector had visited the school on the 17th March last and he was very well satisfied with the work. In his report he says that the teaching was very effective throughout." In July the school was examined by the Central Welsh Board as to the papers set in the written work, they were, generally speaking, very satisfactory, and were a fair test of the year's work. As to attendance he regretted to say that last year again it had been very unsatis- factory. This year he was glad to say Mr Evans, who has so generously given the prizes they were presenting that day, had promised to give prizes to all those who attend school regularly from now to the end of the schoollyear (applause). Before conclud- ing his report he wished to tender his best thanks for the following gifts to the school:-A scholar- ship of Z2 each by Mr M J Morris, chairman of the Governors; the Rev D Owen, Rector ofLlanbedr; Mrs Hicliards, Peiisaru; f,4 by Mr David Jones, Melbourne, Australia (a native of Barmouth); and a sum of £1 subscribed by Mr W Lewis, Arthog. Other gifts to the school received during the year are a suitable selection of novels from the work of Mrs Henry Woods, presented to the school library by Mrs Prys Owen, Aelybryn, Dyffryn; poetical works of Eben Pardd, presented by Mr T Lewis, Arthog; a framed portrait of our late member Mr T E Ellis, presented by Mrs Ellis. Mr 0 M Edwards distributed certificates, and Mr Wm Evans the prizes, as follows:—Form IV: English, 1 Sarah Parry, 2 Evan Jones. Mathematics, i C Rowlands, 2 Edmund Griffith. Languages, 1 Catherine Rowlands, 2 Sarah Parry. General Pro- gress, Mary J Jones, Roy J Richard, Blodwen Adams. Form III: English, Robert Wynne Thomas. Mathematics, Humphrey Williams. Languages, Mari Roberts. Welsh, R Wynne Thomas. General Progress, Katie M Griffith, Morris Rowlands. Form II: English, Maggie Evans. Mathematics, Maggie Evans. Languages, 1 Alun Pierce, 2 S Richards. Welsh, 1 Mary M Ellis, 2 Kate Jones. General Progress, Katie M Griffiths, M Rowlands. Form I: English, Morris Jones. Mathematics, 1 Richard Griffith, 2 Wm Williams (Sen.). Languages, Morris Jones. General Progress, Jane R Jones, Jane Roberts, Winnie Williams, Mary C Griffith, Richard J Lloyd, William Davies. Special prizes:—Conduct prizes: Boys, Evan Jones; girls, Winnie Williams, Mary C Griffith (the above prizes were given by Mr W Evans, Edgbaston). Scripture (given by Mrs Charles Williams, Hengwm), J Lewis. Music (given by Miss Williams, for practising), J Lewis; for progress, M Owen; Cookery, M C Griffith. Successes of Examinations :—Matriculation Ex- amination of University of Wales First Division, Sarah Parry; Second Division, Edmund Griffith. Matriculation Examination, St David's College, Lampeter: Arthur Wilson Hughes. Central Welsh Board Certificate Examination Senior, Catherine Rowlands (distinction in French), Edmund Griffith, and Evan Jones. Junior, Mari Roberts distinction in Scripture and Welsh; Jane Lewis, distinction in Scripture; Mary M Ellis, distinction in Welsh; R W Thomas, Scripture and Welsh Ray Griffith, and Humphrey Williams. Trinity College of Music Primary Examination, Myfanwy Owen. Pitman's Shorthand Certificate (Second Class), Morris Jones. Mr 0 M Edwards, M.P., next addressed the meeting. He congratulated the parents of the pupils and the governors of the school upon the splendid work which was so ably described in the headmaster's report. He knew something about the work of some of the pupils of this school already, and his mind was quite prepared to hear the accounts given by the chairman and by the headmaster of the excellent work that had been done already in the Barmouth School (applause). He believed they would not expect from him that evening anything new about the development of the Welsh Secondary Education system, and that they did not expect any criticism upon it. He was perfectly certain that anything he could say about Welsh education would not be new to them, be- cause they took so keen an interest in it, and he was perfectly certain that any criticism that he could advance had already been presented to their minds. They had to a very great extent created the system. Its existence was owing to their un- failing generosity and interest in the welfare of the children of their country. They could look upon the system from the inside. They were fashioning not only the most potent influence for the future of Wales but also the model system for the other nations of our Empire (loud applause). He felt that evening that to a very great extent he looked at the system from the outside, in-so-far as a Welshman could be outside the engrossing educa- tional questions of this day. He watched it from a distance. He watched it at one time with anxiety, but tha,t anxiety had now given place to hope and to sympathy—(cheers)—and the only thing that he felt called upon to say about their educational system, especially in the secondary aspect, was that from every point of view that he could look upon it, it was certainly shaping well. But though he was not going to criticise their system that night there were critics amongst them and the candid friend was not absent. He (the speaker) had heard one or two criticisms. One was that the enthusiasm connected with education in Wales would not last. It was also said that their head- masters and headmistresses would find their energy failing before long. It was said that the excellent results of to-day could not be shown in the future. He was not going to say for a moment that what happened to all of them would not happen to their headmasters and headmistresses. They would get older and feel sometimes as well worked out as he felt that afternoon, but before that would happen a good number of other things would happen. Then there would be a magnificent school well and com- fortably housed at Barmouth. Then the ranks of their teachers would be reinforced from among the boys and girls in the schools of the day and they would carry on the enthusiasm of this century to the next. Again, if their headmasters and head- mistresses in time did lose some of their energy they would not lose it without gaining a great deal in experience. Another criticism that he had heard was that it was said that secondary education would only make Welshmen more Welsh (hear, hear). It would make him more of an antiquarian then ever and a more innate poet, but he would not become a practical one. Welsh education would only deepen the characteristics that he possessed already. He was not going to say that the Welsh- man had all the virtues of every other nation but would confess that the Welshman did not possess all the virtues of an Irishman, or the energy of a Scotchman, or all the dogged perseveranoe of the Englishman, but he had virtues of his own and one of them was that instead of pining for the virtues of other nations he was quietly developing his own, and their schools would not import to our country the characteristics of other nations but would develop the virtues which they Lad in germ already. The Welshman had many virtues. He was very conservative in many things, especially in Mattel's literary and religious, but he had that sympathy which was the real basis for the toleration of other people (hear, hear). He kept his own, but he was willing" to admire the excellencies of other people, and it seemed to him to be almost pathetic that wherever they would find a community of Welsh- men they always tried to teach their neighbours to organise a Sunday School or to start an eisteddfod. He was told that in America the Welsh are far and away the best colonists because he carried there the best of what he found in Wales-his Sunday school and Eisteddfod and so on and at the; same time admired and aided the best of American institutions (applause). Another criticism he bad heard was that they had in Wales, and especially in Merionethshire, too many schools. It was said that they would turn out too many educated boys and girls and that they would have nothing to do. He ventured to say that that was based on an assumption that could not be taken for granted, that there was a limit to the good that could be done. No, they could not get too many schools, and they could not over-educate their boys and girls and could not turn too many pupils out of school. They wanted in Wales educated people to make their country better than ever before. He (the speaker) wanted Wales to go on. Historians told them that the countries which gave to the worldjits leaders in all good were those countries which were contiguous to the sea or those countries made up of mountains. The children of Wales were the children of sea and mountain. The Barmouth school is erected between sea and mountain. The sea showed the paths to the other countries, and the mountains showed that our nation could take its part of the government of the world not. only in the schools of Wales, not only in the Universities but in Egypt and India. Before sitting down he wished to say a few words to the pupils he saw before him. In the first place he would advise them to work hard. It was by doing so that they would be most happy. He knew their ways as he was a teacher himself, and although he taught pupils] a* little older than those he saw before him, he knew that the happiest amongst them were those who worked hardest. He had never yet, so far as he knew, seen a lazy girl (laughter). It was a mystery to him how the lazy man could bear the tedium of this country. He advised the pupils to try and find out what they were most interested in, and then to work away at that. He did not mean to say that they should not do work that was not interesting, they all had to do a certain amount of it, but his idea was to find out what they were interested in and then to determine to excel in that subject, as they knew it was easier to r. N with the stream than against it. Let them make the best they could of their holidays. All the schools he knew of had one great fault and that was that the holidays were too short. He did not get very long holidays himself-ho only got six months in the year-(laughter)-and all the work that he really did within the year must be crammed into these six months holidays. He had no doubt that they received excellent instruc- tion from their teachers, but let him tell them that their future would depend more upon the use they made of their holidays than upon the school hours. They said at Oxford that the fate of a pass man depended upon the use he made of his terms, but that the fate of the honours man depended upon the use he made of his vacations. He advised the pupils to read English and Welsh literature during their holidays—to read good English novels and Welsh romance. He remembered being sent to a theological college at a time when there was no Intermediate School in Wales, and when he (the speaker) was too young. Once upon a time when he came back after the long summer vacation the professor asked the students what they had been reading during their holidays. One said that he had read some great work, whilst another said he had read the newest book on Higher Criticism, and another said he had mastered the Philosophy of Hegel. The speaker knew that his time. would come, and he had been engrossed in two sixpenny novels, and when his turn came he had nothing to do but to blurt out the truth, as he always did (laughter). The other students laughed heartily, but th, Professor said that when he was a student he had done exactly the same thing and read the same novels (applause). After reading such as this the text books on their return to school would be more interesting. If people told them that there would be no work for them don't believe them. There was plenty of work for all—they were simply waiting for them, and if they worked hard enough and aimed high enough there would be plenty for them to do (ap- plause). If they meant to do real work for their country and were determined to do their duty in life there would be plenty of vocation, and the difficulty would be, not to get enough to do, but to chose between the many openings. His only ad vice to them was, be resolute, be daring, carry on through their lives the native gentleness and the modesty of Welsh boys and girls. Anchored in no stagnant shallows, Trust the wide and wondrous sea, Where the tides are there for ever And the mighty currents free. There perchance, 0 young Columbus Thy new world of thought will be." The speaker then took his seat amidst great ap- plause. Mr William Evans said it was a matter of great pride to be a subject of such a great Empire as ours, but it was a matter of far greater pride to also belong to one of the smallest Prinuipalicies within that Empire, with a national character and a national life of its own. A country so small that each one of them no matter how small his means or his influence was an important factor in its wel- fare and development. The present generation was making sacrifices in order to give the rising generation the education which would fit them to fight the battle not for their own sakes but for the town and country in the days that are to come. They in Barmouth were doing their part in building a school and carrying it on, and they had some right to hope and expect that according to the success of the scholars educated at the school they would do something to help with any wealth they may have acquired. Wales of the future would be better than the present as the present is better than the past. The present time is the Cymm Fydd" of 50 years ago. Would they not have rejoiced had they known that these schools would be established and to be within the reach of every boy and girl ? People of 50 years would think such a thing too good to be true indeed, it was only a dream 30 years age. As Mr Edwards had said their present Intermediate School system was the best in the world and they had three Universities with an in- creasing number of students (applause.) At the opening ceremony of the University of Wales at Aberystwyth the late Mr T E Ellis remarked to a friend that he was the happiest cnan present because that was the fulfilment of his day dream when a boy (applause.) It came to very few to do what the late Mr Ellis and Mr 0 M Edwards were doing for Welsh Education, but they could all do a little, and he hoped and trusted that as years rolled on there would be an increasing- emulation on the part of the people of Wales as to who could do the most in this direction (applause.) On the proposition of Mr Lewis Lewis, seconded by the Rev D Evans a vote of thanks was passed to Mr 0 M Edwards. A similar vote was accorded Mr Evans, and the proceedings came to an end.